Farm aid
Assistance for local agriculturists


Carl Peterson is fond of his cows; he refers to his heifers as his "girls" – they are his livelihood.
Peterson, who is 75, has spent his whole life farming 850 acres on Bozenkill Road in Knox. His farm is one of the few remaining farms in Knox, and Peterson said last week that he is pleased with the Dairy Assistance Program – which appropriated $30 million for dairy farmers in response to the record-low milk prices in 2006. He says it "really helps."

The Empire State Development Corporation recently mailed out $25 million in electronic and paper-check payments to farmers who had applied for the assistance by the April 27 deadline.

Bozenkill Farm, which has been in Peterson’s family for five generations, received about $9,630 in aid from the program. His farm produced nearly three million pounds of milk last year from 140 cows, he said.

Peterson served for 26 years on the board of directors for Agri Mark – a dairy cooperative that markets more than 300 million gallons of farm-fresh milk each year for 1,300 farming families in New York and six New England states. He was also the chairman for 14 years. Agri Mark uses the milk to produce Cabot and McCadam cheeses, in three cheese plants the cooperative owns, Peterson said proudly before putting on a McCadam cheese baseball cap.
The Dairy Assistance Program, Peterson said, "is a short-term solution" It’s unrealistic to think it’s something we’d get every year."

Peterson was part of an agriculture committee of about 20 people last year that requested $60 million from the state for dairy farmers, he said.
"It was absolutely needed," Peterson said of the assistance. "There was no other way than the legislature."

Vermont had allocated $8.6 million to its farmers, and the $60 million figure was based on the amount each Vermont farmer received but was spread over more New York farms, he said.
"I think we did absolutely great to get what we got," Peterson said of the $30 million. "Maybe we’ll catch up on our bills a little bit," he said, adding that the fuel costs for his farm last year were more than $30,000. Health insurance costs are also high, he said. Peterson pays over $1,000 a month for himself, his wife, and his grandson. "That’s with Medicare," he said.
The state legislature "agreed to put this pot of money in because the farmers received extraordinarily low milk prices in 2006," said Brad Maione, a spokesman for Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s office.

Each eligible farmer received 35 cents per hundred pounds of milk, he explained; the figure was calculated by dividing the $30 million dollars by the estimated pounds of eligible milk.

Farms that produced 4.8 million pounds of milk or more, each received the maximum amount of assistance – $16,800.
Douglas LaGrange, of Feura Bush, runs one of those farms with the help of his father, Marvin; brother, David; and uncle, Ronald. The 215-acre farm has been in the LaGrange family for eight generations. It produced around 6 million pounds of milk last year, said LaGrange. "We have some hard-working cows," he said.

Because there are still farmers eligible for aid that hasn’t been accounted for, Maione said, the state’s Department of Agriculture and Markets has extended the deadline for farmers to submit their applications to July 9. The remaining $5 million will be paid out at that time, he said.
"We’re going to continue to try and assist wherever possible," Maoine said of the Spitzer administration’s commitment to agriculture, adding that the assistance is not an annual program. "We will continue to address the needs of farmers as time goes on," he said.
"Dairy farms play a vital role in the economic well-being of Upstate New York," said Gov. Spitzer in a May 10 announcement on the Dairy Assistance Program. "By providing this needed assistance, we are helping farmers and the communities they support. This aid will hardly solve all the challenges facing dairy farmers, but hopefully it will help alleviate some of the financial burdens incurred last year," he said.
"We’ll work closely with the Department of Agriculture and Markets to identify areas of need" and continue to move forward," Maione told The Enterprise.

Milk pricing

The price paid to farmers for their milk is based on the quantity, and the milk’s components, or percentages of butter fat and protein, said Cathy Wickswat, dairy and farm-business educator for the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rensselaer County.
"Milk checks are the most complicated things you’ve ever seen," Wickswat said.
Farmers are also paid "some quality premiums and volume premiums," she explained, "Larger farms get more from volume premiums."
When the milk supply gets tight, she said, more premiums are offered. A premium is now being offered to farmers who sign a contract that there milk is "BST-free," she said. BST – bovine somatotropin – commonly called bovine growth hormone, is found naturally in the cow’s body, Wickswat said, and injecting cows with additional BST increases milk production. There is no way to test the levels of it, she said.
Milk handlers request that farmers sign a contract that they are not using the hormone to increase their milk production, and, in exchange, they are paid a premium. The problem, though, said Wickswat, is"some feel the premiums to not use BST are very small."
Farmers strive "to make the most milk with the lowest feed costs and the highest components," Wickswat said. "It’s a balancing act" Farmers are really struggling with their bills," she said.
Though milk prices in 2006 were at a record low, LaGrange said,"They’ve been climbing since the end of last year." Record-high prices are predicted by the end of 2007, he said. The promise of higher prices gives farmers "something to look forward to," he said, but with fuel and feed costs continuing to climb, he said, "It’s a bit of a Catch-22. Things aren’t always as bright and cheery as they seem."

One major obstacle, LaGrange explained, is the skyrocketing price of corn, due not only to rising fuel prices, but also the increasing demand for ethanol as an alternative fuel source.
It would likely take two or three years of "respectable prices to get us to the point of making major improvements," said LaGrange.
"In my opinion," said Peterson, "We are in a battle with the far west." For example, he said, in Idaho, "You don’t have a farm unless you have 30,000 cows."

California, Idaho, and New Mexico are big milk-producing states, Peterson said, and every 10,000-cow farm out west displaces 100 smaller farms in New York.
"We have to have a regional program," Peterson stressed, "with the New England states working together."

New York passed legislation to join a dairy compact, or contract among states to establish a commission to set the price on fluid milk, he said. Each state needs to pass identical legislation to join, he said.
In the compact, he said, the money all comes from the marketplace. "Our markets are all tied to the price of cheese," he said, again emphasizing the importance of a regional program "to put a floor" under the price.
"That was a perfect program for us," Peterson said of the dairy compact. "Other states thought it gave us an unfair advantage" and those states had enough power within Congress to thwart the renewal of the contract, he said.
Dairy farmers are an important economic source within the local economy, said Wickswat. "In Rensselaer County, 60 percent of our economy is dairy."

Many farmers will use the money from the Dairy Assistance Program to pay for crop expenses, she said; the funding comes during the peak planting season.
Peterson said that, thus far, he has planted 173 acres, and has "plenty to do" to get in the rest of the 225 acres he usually plants.
The $16,000 in aid for the LaGrange farm will pay about two weeks of feed bills. "It’s not like we’re going to go out and splurge," said LaGrange.

Much needed help
"The state’s trying desperately to keep dairy farms in business," LaGrange told The Enterprise. "A lot of farmers, including us, would rather get a respectable price for the product, than rely on government help," he said.
"Every time farms go out of business, it affects more than just the farmer," LaGrange said. The effects trickle down to the prices consumers pay at the grocery store, he said.
"I have noticed that, in a general sense" the Democratic party, both statewide and nationally, tends to make more money available for agriculture," said LaGrange, a Republican, who is considering a run for town supervisor in the fall election. "I’d rather see the system change, rather than put a Band-Aid on it" The political climate doesn’t work toward resolving situations, no matter what party, it tends to lean toward Band-Aids," he said.
"I really hope people realize that it’s like any other assistance farmers have gotten" no matter what it is, it’s not just for the farmer, it’s for everyone," LaGrange said, regarding the Dairy Assistance Program.
"Farms keep open space," LaGrange concluded, "The longer you keep farms operating, the longer you keep the rural character everyone desires."
"Dairy farms are probably the best use for most of the agricultural land in New York State," Peterson told The Enterprise. Dairy farming adapts well to the climate in the region, he said. "If we were to lose our dairy farms, I don’t know what would replace it."